Arcturus Mengsk (Co-op Missions)
|game=SC2 |image=MengskCoop Game LotV1.JPG |imgsize=250px |imgdesc= |image2= |imgsize2= |imgdesc2= |race=Terran |faction= Terran Dominion : Dominion Armed Forces :: Royal Guard |campname= |baseunit= |role=Massed infantry divisions supported by elite forces Call-down offense Heavy artillery support |useguns= |usearmor= |energy= |engyregen= |timedlife= |size= |type= |armortype= |transcapacity= |transsize= |sight= |detect= |broodling= |costmin= |energycost= |costgas= |supply= |campcost= |time= |produced= |parent= |evolvesfrom= |req= |hotkey= |speed= |accel= |lataccel= |decel= |creepbonus= |creepmultiplier= |collision= |shield= |shieldregen= |hp= |hpregen= |armor= |gun1name= |gun1strength= |gun1attacks= |gun1ground= |gun1air= |gun1cool= |gun1range= |gun1upgrd= |addons= |evolvesto= |produce= |allows= |research= |ability= |priority= |killscore= |makescore= |lostscore= |notes='Strengths' *Early game economic supremacy *Troopers are inexpensive but upgradable for immense utility *Royal Guard provide large amounts of utility to both players *Supply Bunkers provide supply and defense *Incredibly powerful static defenses *Regular calldowns provide expendable troops and wave clear *Artillery allows him to clear some map objectives without a fight Weaknesses *Extremely gas starved *Royal Guard is difficult to rebuild *Vulnerable to Crowd Control and Area-of-Effect damage *Low pushing ability without the use of call-downs or artillery. *Commander requires both macro and micro to utilize properly |structure= |hero= |campaign= |npc= |cancel= |nocat=x |concatbott= |concattop= }} Arcturus Mengsk is a playable commander in Co-op Missions mode. He utilizes masses of recruits to push the front, while "controversial" weapons support his fight against Amon. The core of Mengsk's army are his Dominion troopers and laborers, conscripted forces who are cheap and easy to produce. They can switch between being a laborer and a trooper as the situation requires, and can equip themselves with powerful weapons, more expensive than they are. These weapons are dropped when they die. Supporting these are Mengsk's Royal Guard, the most powerful forces of the Terran Dominion that he keeps for his personal safety. These units each have powerful abilities, and as they continue fighting in combat gain veterancy, which gives them more power and allows them to unlock more abilities. By training troopers and laborers, leveling up the Royal Guard, and by using Imperial Witnesses, Mengsk gains Imperial Mandate, which allows him to utilize powerful calldowns. Overview Info *''Recommended for experienced players'' *''Conscript a large disposable army of Dominion Troopers.'' *''Control and level up the Royal Guard, your personal elite fighting force'' *''Imperial Mandate grants access to even more powerful and controversial abilities'' Mastery ;Power Set 1 :Laborer and Trooper Imperial Support: +1% – +30% :Royal Guard Support: +1% – +30% ;Power Set 2 :Terrible Damage (Calldown Damage, not affecting Forced Conscription): +1% – +30% :Royal Guard Cost: : -0.67% – -20% ;Power Set 3 :Starting Imperial Mandate: : +1 – +30 :Royal Guard Experience Gain Rate: +0.5% – +15% Calldown Abilities Calldown abilities run off of Imperial Mandate. Imperial Mandate is generated at Level 5 by using Royal Guard units, but can also be generated by using Imperial witnesses in Patriot Mode to give the Indoctrinate mode Dominion laborers and Dominion troopers (and their variants). Without any generation, Mengsk has Mandate generation of 40 every 240 seconds, but initial Madidate and Mandate generation can be increased via mastery. Upgrades Army Composition Units and Structures Talent Progression Mengsk acquires the following talents as he levels up. Strategies No Matter the Cost Mengsk's cheap and speedy worker forces allow him to build his expansion and his overall base rapidly. They also share Swann's ability to queue multiple workers on each construction site to speed it up. Take advantage of this by churning out expendable workers and troopers to provide an early defense and an impressive economic advantage. Remember that Mengsk's bunkers double as supply depots, allowing him to provide a defense for both commanders if his forces are placed properly. Troopers form the backbone of Mengsk's army, and the player should practice using and arming them in order to learn how to use Mengsk's forces effectively. While the Elite Guard brings a tremendous amount of raw power to the field, the troopers can bring a great deal of utility with their various weapons, and they should not be underestimated even in the late-game. Mengsk is, however, hungry for vespene for his Royal Guard, so refineries should be built quickly. The Voice of the People Mengsk's calldowns rely on Imperial Mandate. This is gained from two ways, one by having leveled up Royal Guard units, the other by using a pair of Imperial witness units to "indoctrinate" troopers and laborers. This is done by placing them in "Patriot Mode" over an army. Due to the large amount of Imperial Mandate gain, witnesses will be the primary means for Mengsk to gain energy to use his powerful abilities. Putting an Imperial Witness over each mineral line will gain a substantial amount of mandate, allowing him to have calldowns ready in most situations. Upgrade Amplified Airwaves to ensure that maximum mandate is gained. The witness's ability also gives a buff to Mengsk and his ally's movement speed and attack speed, so spreading witnesses around on both the player's and their ally's army will give them a substantial edge in combat. Take care however, as witnesses are often targeted by anti-air units. The Best of the Dominion All units of the Elite Guard are very powerful when used correctly. These elite units gain strength as they level up, similar to Dehaka, allowing Mengsk's army to continually grow more dangerous as the game goes on. Careful micro of of these elites is a must, as Mengsk's healing and repair abilities are less viable than those of Raynor or Swann. The Dominion troopers are fairly expendable compared to the costly Elite Guard. The combination of Blackhammers, Pride of Augustgrads, Sky Furies, Emperors Shadows, Shock Companies, and Aegis Guard, means that Mengsk has many viable options to choose from to form the muscle of his army. The Emperor's Tactics Mengsk's call downs are powerful offensively. His ability to call down a nuclear barrage and summon an attack wave of zerg gives him tremendous wave clear, though such power costs a large amount of mandate. His ability to poison the enemy with contaminated ordinance can kill weaker units and slow down hybrid, and his ability to unleash an expendable army of zerg means that Mengsk can bring incredible offensive firepower to bear and/or greatly help an ally's push. Add to that these abilities are global, many of them not requiring vision of the target area. Although the player should be extremely careful with the timing of these abilities and should not rely on them at the expense of building an army, as that will leave Mengsk vulnerable. One key ability for Mengsk is Forced Conscription. In the early game with high-level mastery, this can allow him to clear out expansion rocks and immediately change his troopers to workers, giving him one of the fastest early economies in the game. These bunkers can also be used to swap troopers for laborers, letting Mengsk repair his guard on the field. The power of his calldowns comes from his mandate gain, with Dogs of War gaining more power as Mengsk gains mandate, so creating witnesses with Amplified Airwaves early for enhanced mandate gain will help Mengsk get maximum power ouf of his calldowns. Shatter the Sky The Earthsplitter ordinance can be an incredibly powerful tool if used correctly, as their firepower is immense. They take a considerable number of resources, and cost no supply. However, they fire at a rate of once per 30 seconds unless troopers are garrisoned within, which at full stock lowers their firing rate to one shot every six seconds. The ability to fully salvage for 100% of the cost also means that batteries can be moved up if enemies are out of range of the ordinance. However, their power comes from a large number of batteries, and since their attacks are randomized massing the structures can lead to periods of the game where Mengsk may be weaker without support. However, massed Earthsplitters are powerful on maps where players hold the center and have set objectives to shell, such as "Dead of Night" or "Miner Evacuation." The strike zones also provide vision of the target area before each ordnance salvo, allowing whatever requires vision to be launched in full. The weakness of these guns is that they require a large amount of room and resources to build. An ally can get the erroneous impression they are working with a "turtle" player instead of a contributing commander. Further, Mengsk must be careful not to block his ally in or prevent his fellow commander from maneuvering. Maps that require heavy defense tend to have limited areas to build, and with Mengsk filling a lot of the terrain with his Earthsplitters, players like Dehaka and Swann can be left being unable to reach objectives. Strategies ;Recommended Masteries: Power Set 1: Laborer and Trooper Imperial Support * Mandate gain is key to Mengsk, but the mandate gained by his Royal Guard and their promotions are trivial compared to that gained by using imperial witnesses over groups of laborers mining from Mengsk's bases. This mastery provides much more mandate for Mengsk if used properly. Power Set 2: Royal Guard Cost * The high vespene cost of the Royal Guard can be prohibitive to their use in his army, and this will help mitigate much of the steep gas cost, and allow for earlier units to build up experience. Terrible Damage is a significant buff to Dogs of War, but as Contaminated Strike damage does not overlap it does not scale well for it, and Nuclear Annihilation can already destroy most enemy targets without increased damage. Power Set 3: Starting Imperial Mandate * Putting 25 points into Starting Imperial Mandate allows Mengsk to have one of the strongest economic openers in the game on maps with destructible rocks, where he can instantly call down one bunker, destroy the rocks, turn the troopers into laborers and build an enlistment center at his expansion with their ability to use multiple laborers to speed up building. This means Mengsk can expand to a new base in about 2-3 minutes. In maps where enemy forces guard expansions, this can still be used to either supplement the main base with laborers/troopers, or to summon an early 25 Mandate Dogs of War to push the enemy out of the expansion area. This is also powerful with commanders like Abathur and Dehaka who gain their early game power from destroying enemies. Synergies Protoss Commanders Artanis and Mengsk have some amazing synergy together. Mengsk’s core army is very lightly armored and dies quickly, but Guardian Shield prevents death for a long period of time, not only keeping troopers from dying but allowing them to keep in the fight for longer. This shield also protects Mengsk’s Dogs of War, giving more strength to an already powerful calldown. This also keep key Royal Guard units from dying should they get picked off from something like a viper abduct. In addition, Mengsk can provide vision with his artillery for Artanis’s calldowns and warp field. Artanis’s tankier units also serve as a powerful screen for Mengsk’s trooper army, while the extra range ‘’Pride of Augustgrads’’ can provide to units like dragoons and reavers give some strength to Artanis. Shield Overcharge also is especially powerful for Mengsk during pushes. Vorazun and Mengsk do not overlap much, but have some power together. Mengsk lacks cloaked units that benefit much from Vorazun, but dark pylon’s bonuses can be used to enhance Mengsk’s power levels. Mengsk’s calldowns also allow him to cover areas Vorazun may not be able to, and Dogs of War works well with Time Stop as it can take advantage of an attack even when units are spread out. Black hole can also lock down units for Nuclear Annihilation if needed (though usually it can take out armies without it if timed correctly), though unless at a critical mass does not work well with Earthsplitters. Karax and Mengsk have some power together, depending on the build the two go. Karax’s Unity Barrier applies to Mengsk’s units, and gives his army in general much more durability that it desperately needs. Karax’s calldowns pair well with Mengsks, as his Earthsplitters give vision, and both can deliver powerful blows to enemy positions. Energizers pair well with Mengsk’s Royal Guard, though may end up using too much energy on regular troopers. Reconstruction Beam can be a blessing to Mengsk’s mechanical Royal Guard units, as they keep them repaired even during a battle without the need to switch to laborers. Chrono Wave and Chrono Boost is a massive boon to Arcturus, who produces troopers and laborers rather quickly, and has a number of upgrades he can pick from. Alarak and Mengsk have some elements that assist one another, but both can end up being “selfish” commanders. The biggest boon is Mengsk’s large trooper ball, which provides Alarak with a much stronger Empower Me. Vanguards can also serve as artillery from behind trooper balls, while Alarak and his supplicants can be a powerful frontline from which Mengsk can keep fighting. Fenix and Mengsk provide commentary army compositions. With much of Fenix’s army designed to take on the enemy head on, Fenix, Kaldalis and his Legionaries pair well with trooper swarms. What Fenix also lacks in powerful calldowns, Mengsk makes up for in droves, and this allows Fenix to focus on one objective while Mengsk can divert Imperial Mandate to deal with an oncoming attack wave or side objective. Both commanders are flexible in terms of composition they can use to counter the enemy, so compositions such as scout + Aegis Guard and colossi + Sky Fury can work to fill in one another’s gaps. Zeratul and Mengsk do not have a lot of synergy, but are both powerful commanders who work well on their own. Both have powerful calldowns to deal with enemy attack waves or pushes into enemy bases. Earthsplitters can also reveal fog of war, allowing Zeratul to use his Phase Cannons on enemy positions should he be going a build with heavy cannons. Cannons themselves can provide a powerful distraction to prevent damage on Mengsk’s army, and allow him to dish out the damage he can with his trooper swarm. Terran Commanders Jim Raynor and Arcturus Mengsk, for all their differences in history, tend to compliment one another fairly well. One of the big things Mengsk lacks is the ability to keep his troopers alive when under fire, something that Raynor can help support with his medics, which also serve as a means to recover health on Mengsk’s Royal Guard without the need for switching to laborers on the field. Mengsk meanwhile can provide a significant boost to Raynor’s infantry with his imperial witness buff, which can further increase the marine’s rate of fire while stimmed to a significant amount. The ‘’Pride of Augustgrad’’ range buff to nearby ground units also greatly aids Raynor’s infantry, allowing more marines to shoot at once without stacking on top of one another. A good Raynor can also compliment Mengsk’s somewhat unreliable detection with scanner sweeps, though both players will have to be on the lookout for cloaked units. Rory Swann provides a boost to one of Mengsk’s key limiting factors: vespene gas. Vespene drones allows Mengsk to produce more Royal Guard quicker, and Mengsk’s ability to quickly expand means he can take advantage of this gas income boost very early in the game. In addition, science vessels provide healing for Mengsk’s mechanized Royal Guard and give him detection, while laborers on the field can help give further healing to Swann’s units. Earthsplitters also compliment Swann’s Drakken Laser Drill, as they can target the fog of war and reveal areas of the map, allowing the drill to help with damaging far targets or laying the vision for a pulse cannon. Earthsplitters can also help give breathing room to siege tank balls if enemies decide to close in on Swann’s forces. Depending on the composition, Megsk’s flame troopers and missile troopers can also provide a good buffer for Swann’s heavier siege lines. Nova Terra and her emperor don’t have a large amount of overlap, as Nova’s abilities tend to help smaller more specialized armies. The amount of troopers on the field makes defensive drone not particularly helpful, unless microed properly to impact just his Royal Guard units. Nova’s early detection can compliment Mengsk however, and her snipe can take out priority targets that would deal area-of-effect damage to his forces. Tactical Airlift also provides Mengsk’s army with some much-needed mobility, and both can use powerful wave-clearing calldowns. Mira Han and Matt Horner give some good benefits to Arcturus. The salvage mechanic means that even though Mengsk may lose a large number of troopers or even guard, he can make those minerals back quicker than he would before. Earthsplitters also pair well with Strike Fighters on maps where indirect fire is powerful such as “Dead of Night,” meaning both commanders can keep up their offensive even when it is difficult to leave their base. However, both Han and Horner’s and Mengsk’s core army suffer heavily when hit with area-of-effect, and though both rebuild quickly this often means both armies will suffer losses at similar points in the game. Tychus Findlay and Arcturus are a strong pair. Tychus has one of the strongest early games in the game, which can allow Mengsk to focus on his economy and building up his tech for specialized Royal Guard and Imperial Mandate. Earthsplitters can also fire through the fog of war, giving Tychus vision for areas that he can move with his medivacs. The attack and movement speed boost of witnesses also can greatly aid Tychus, especially stacked with the revitalizer attack boost, while Rattlesnake can give healing to Mengsk’s army and Royal Guard, something he normally would have to do with intercessors and laborers. As Tychus, remember to lay down revitalizers for ally Mengsks between fights. The strong calldowns of Mengsk also compliment Tychus perfectly, and can make for powerful pushes into enemy bases. Zerg Commanders Sarah Kerrigan, uncharacteristic for their history, has powerful synergy with Arcturus Mengsk. Kerrigan’s powerful hero means early attack waves will be removed, while Mengsk can compensate for waves that potentially hit before Kerrigan spawns, meaning she can focus on macro and not on early units. Assimilation Aura also provides Mengsk with more gas, helping ease the gas burden of his Royal Guard. Omega Worms give much needed mobility to Mengsk’s core army, as well as viable detection if used correctly. Mengsk meanwhile can supplement Kerrigan’s pushes with powerful calldowns that quickly generate, with Dogs of War being powerful when used alongside Immobilization Wave. Zagara and Arcturus both have a similar focus at their core: massive waves of expendable units to send crashing into enemy positions. In spite of this the two do compliment one another, Zagara’s Frenzy is powerful when used in conjunction with upgraded masses of troopers. Arcturus’s calldowns give more pushing power to Zagara’s forces and can help her anywhere on the map. Mengsk’s powerful anti-air Royal Guard, like Sky Furies, Blackhammers and ‘’Pride of Augustgrad’’ yamatos can help clear the air for Zagara and ease the number of scourges she has to rebuild. As Zagara can clear bases pretty quick, it is beneficial to get out Royal Guard to soak the experience should she decide to do early pushes. Abathur and Mengsk compliment in several ways. If coordinated correctly, early bunkers or Dogs of War can help in the beginning of the game when Abathur is beginning to create his first brutalisks, which can quickly allow him to scale into the mid game. Abathur’s mend meanwhile provides Mengsk with an army-wide heal on both his troopers and Royal Guard. Abathur’s toxic nests can provided a needed defense for Mengsk’s batteries. Forced Conscription can also provide a means to help enemy attack waves stop on Abathur’s minefields. Dehaka and Mengsk have some strengths together. On maps where expansions are blocked by enemies, an early Dogs of War at 50 energy can really help Dehaka’s early essence hunt, as well as clear the way for the expansions. This allows Dehaka to scale nicely through the early game and get key abilities. His regeneration aura and detector hero unit also benefits many of the holes in Mengsk’s arsenal, and both have neigh global presence with their calldowns. Dehaka himself can also serve as a powerful tank to prevent Mengsk’s troopers from being overwhelmed quickly. Egon Stetmann and Mengsk can provide some utility to one another. With the HUGS zone activated, Mengsk can heal his forces, though the overcharged stetellites may not be as effective with Mengsk’s heavy trooper army. Mengsk also only has Emperor’s Shadow that benefit from the JUICE configuration, which usually aren’t heavily used. While FAST does not provide much of an early game bonus to Mengsk as he can create workers quickly, it does allow for Mengsk to reposition. Between the FAST configuration and the speed boost from the imperial witnesses, both players can almost instantly reposition their armies if needed. Quotations :See: Arcturus Mengsk Commander Quotations Achievements Gameplay Levels Videos Co-op Commander Mengsk Development As one of the iconic villains of StarCraft lore, the goal of Mengsk was to capture his duplicity and ruthlessness. His talk of unity and the "common good" being used to manipulate people was made to be captured in his trooper weapons, which cost more than the troopers themselves and are dropped when the trooper dies, to reflect how little he cares about them. His Royal Guard meanwhile were the elite soldiers he keeps close to his chest, and designed to be used to support troopers with powerful abilities. As the bastion of military power in the Koprulu Sector, Mengsk was made to embody the iconic real-time strategy concept of a commander who entrenches and plays to win at all costs. The ability to swap laborers for troopers and garrison units within supply bunkers were concepts borrowed from Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, to allow Mengsk to defend his base with workers alone.New Co-Op Commander: Arcturus Mengsk Battle.net, 10-3-2019 Arcturus Mengsk has an unused speech for his gameplay trailer, that appears in the Galaxy Map Editor: "Citizens of the Dominion, what separates us from one another is not money or creed or heritage. It is simple loyalty. While monsters walked the streets of Augustgrad, I prepared for a war greater than the last. Whatever betrayals I have suffered, I will rise above them. I cannot abandon you when the hour has grown so dark. Just as we threw back the zerg and the protoss, we will strike down all who threaten our way of life. I know our Dominion will live on... so long as we put our trust in those who deserve it." Trivia *Mengsk has special interactions with Jim Raynor, Sarah Kerrigan and Tychus Findlay for the first time they use their Hyperion, Immobilization Wave, and Odin abilities respectively. *The select, move, and attack quotes of Mengsk's Dominion troopers (and their variants) and Dominion laborers changes depending on the Imperial Mandate level, with less than 34 being more reluctant, 34-67 being "normal," and greater than 67 being patriotic and assured. References Category:Co-op Commanders